Se connecterElara’s Pov: The report remained on the desk long after the security chief had finished explaining it, and I found myself staring at the matching codes as though they might reveal the identity of the person who had accessed the old authorization channel. Someone within Blackwood territory had used a system connected to the restriction that erased my identity, and although Silas had ordered an investigation, none of us knew how many people could still move through those hidden channels without attracting attention.“What happens if the person responsible discovers that we know about the access?” I asked, looking towards Silas. “They could destroy whatever evidence remains before your security team finds them.”“That is why the investigation will be handled discreetly,” he replied. “If we announce that someone inside the pack is involved, we could alert the person before we establish where the access originated.”I understood his reasoning, but the thought of another person quietly int
Silas looked towards him, struggling to contain his anger. His father’s administration had created a system that could conceal the identity of anyone issuing instructions, and someone had preserved that system through the leadership transition without bringing it to the attention of the new Alpha.“Secure every surviving copy of this log and restrict access to the old channel while we investigate,” he ordered. “Nobody is to make changes to those records without my direct authorization.”Elara returned the notes to him, her expression growing increasingly troubled as she considered what the discovery meant.“If the channel was used to maintain my restriction, then the person who ordered it may still have the means to interfere with the succession review,” she said.Silas could not disagree, particularly when the evidence suggested that Rowan had discovered the same connection before his death.By the time they returned to Blackwood territory, Silas had received another message from the
Silas pov The threatening message remained on Silas’s phone long after he had read it for the third time, its words seeming to grow more deliberate with every passing second. Whoever had sent it knew that Roman had been questioned, knew that the former security operative was dead, and was confident enough to threaten another death without revealing their identity. Silas had spent most of his life believing that the authority of the Alpha was absolute within his territory, yet the events of the past few days had shown him how easily someone could operate beneath that authority while using the very systems meant to protect his pack.Elara stood across the study, watching him with an expression that suggested she had already reached the same conclusion.“Do you think the message is meant to frighten you into leaving Roman alone?” she asked, her gaze shifting briefly towards the phone in his hand. “Or are they warning us that they know exactly what we are doing?”“I suspect both,” Silas
Silas pov “By making her disappear from the records and allowing everyone to believe she was nobody?”Roman’s jaw tightened. “You were young when your father died, Silas. You inherited a pack surrounded by enemies, and the last thing Blackwood needed was a dispute that could have drawn every major territory into a conflict. Your father had already begun restricting the claim before his death. I merely ensured that his decision remained in effect.”I stared at him, struggling to reconcile the man before me with the trusted adviser I had known for most of my life.“You used my father’s seal after he died.”“The delegation authority was already in place.”“And you never thought I deserved to know?”“You were Alpha, but that did not mean you understood every threat surrounding your position.”His answer struck a nerve, partly because I recognized the arrogance behind it and partly because I could no longer deny that I had allowed men like him to influence the way I treated Elara. I had c
Silas Pov The journey back to Blackwood was filled with a silence that seemed heavier than the darkness surrounding us. Even after the attack on the witness’s property, my attention remained fixed on the words he had spoken before we left.Someone closer to my throne than I imagined.Elder Roman.For years, I had trusted the man without question. He had served my father before me, advised me through my first years as Alpha, and stood beside me during decisions that shaped the future of this pack. I had considered him one of the few people who understood what it meant to protect the Blackwood name, yet the witness had just confirmed that Roman was responsible for keeping Elara’s identity buried.My hands tightened around the steering wheel as I glanced at the woman sitting beside me. Elara had barely spoken since we left the witness behind, and although she appeared calm, I could tell she was thinking about everything we had learned.“You’re unusually quiet,” I said, keeping my eyes o
Silas’s pov“I expected nothing less,” Nadia replied before ending the call.The convoy continued along the narrow road, leaving the familiar Blackwood boundary markers behind as the trees thickened around us. Gideon guided the driver toward a secluded property set back from the main route, where an old house stood behind a stone wall and a rusted gate. There were no visible guards, no fresh tracks leading toward the entrance, and no sign that anyone had approached the property recently, although I knew appearances could be misleading.I ordered our escort to secure the perimeter before allowing Gideon to lead us to the front door. The man who answered was older than I had expected, with silver hair, a deeply lined face, and a gaze that moved from Gideon to me before settling on Elara. He did not invite us inside, and when Gideon explained why we had come, the former records officer’s expression hardened.“I told Rowan I would not become part of another council
POV: SilasI stood at the head of the long dining table and watched the seats fill up with my high-ranking warriors and their mates, but my mind wasn't on the border reports or the upcoming hunt because I couldn't stop thinking about the way Elara had looked at me in her bedroom.I expected her to
POV: ElaraI was sitting by the window in my newly emptied room when a sharp knock sounded at the door, and before I could even tell the person to come in, the handle turned and a woman with perfectly styled hair and a smug grin stepped inside.I recognized her from the party, or at least from the
Elara~I woke up the next morning with this weird ache in my back that made me shift around on the bed a couple times before I gave up and just sat there staring at the bare walls. The room felt different without all that old stuff from before. My hand went to my stomach again without thinking, and
POV: ElaraThe plastic stick felt heavy in my hand as I stared at the two pink lines, and my heart was racing so fast that I could barely breathe.I had waited three years for this moment, three years of being the "rogue wife" everyone whispered about in the hallways, but I was sure everything wou







